CANADA STOCKS-TSX steady as oil weighs, banks and gold edge up

TORONTO Dec 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was
little changed on Wednesday as a drop in the price of oil pulled
down energy shares, offsetting small gains in financial stocks
and gold miners ahead of the Christmas break.

Oil fell in thin trade as data from the American Petroleum
Institute, an industry group, showed a bigger than expected
increase in U.S. crude stocks for the week to Dec. 19.

"The oil stocks are reacting, as would be expected," said
John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities. "They've
had a little bit of a rally on oil, but now that it's down again
today they're all following it down."

But the decline in oil stocks was largely offset by modest
gains in other areas, including financial shares, which rose 0.2
percent as U.S. unemployment claims figures extended a string of
upbeat economic data releases in the United States.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
was down 8.86 points, or 0.06 percent, at 14,585.17.

Gold miners outperformed the broader materials sector, which
itself was slightly positive, rising 1.3 percent even as gold
prices slumped to near three-week lows. Heavyweight Goldcorp
was up 1.4 percent at C$20.25.

"They've been beaten up, so this is maybe just a little bit
of a catch up before year-end," Kinsey said of the gold stocks.

Canadian equity markets will close early on Wednesday,
shutting at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) ahead of the Christmas
holidays. Because of Canada's Boxing Day holiday on Friday, they
do not reopen until Monday.